1812 Lost Gunboats Documentary
Two hundred years after they disappeared beneath the waters of Ontario’s Thames River, two British Royal Navy gunboats remain one of Canada’s greatest unsolved historical mysteries. In the new six-part documentary series 1812-The Lost Gunboats, filmmaker Geordie Sabbagh joined amateur historians Dave Rose and Chris Giroux on an unlikely quest to find them.
What begins as a weekend project between friends quickly grows into a year-long expedition involving historians, archaeologists, geophysicists, divers, Indigenous knowledge keepers, military experts, sonar, magnetometers, drones—and more than a few spectacular failures. Along the way, the team uncovers remarkable stories from the War of 1812 while proving that determination, curiosity, and a healthy sense of humour can take ordinary people farther than anyone imagined.
Part history, part adventure, and part comedy, 1812-The Lost Gunboats follows three passionate amateurs as they chase an impossible dream, learning that every breakthrough comes with another setback, every answer leads to new questions and Amazon doesn’t solve everything.
“We aren’t archaeologists or treasure hunters,” says creator and host Geordie Sabbagh. “We’re three ordinary Canadians who became fascinated by a forgotten piece of history. We bought some gear off Amazon, asked a lot of questions, made plenty of mistakes, and somehow found ourselves finding these boats.”
Lebanese-Canadian filmmaker Geordie Sabbagh makes films where sarcasm is the highest form of wit. He is also a volunteer firefighter, and ran as a candidate for Mark Carney — because apparently filmmaking wasn’t chaotic enough.
His feature films and numerous short films have screened theatrically and at festivals including Fantasia, Shanghai, Berlin, and Comic-Con. His work has earned critical acclaim while also doing something rarer in independent film: making money. His films are available worldwide on platforms including Amazon, Tubi, PBS, Crave, and CBC.
David Cronenberg once stepped out of the director’s chair to act in one of Geordie’s short films. He did ask for the chair back — but he was very polite about it.
Geordie began his career at the BBC after answering a vaguely worded posting for the BBC World Service in Afghanistan. At Discovery, he learned the art of the cliffhanger from the creator of Shark Week, later refining it by acting out his scripts at the fire hall.
Between filmmaking, firefighting, and the occasional run for government, Geordie has learned that most of his life decisions begin with the words: this will make a good story.
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